Template:Verify sources/doc

Not to be confused with Template:Verify source.

This template indicates that the article has a large number of references in need of verification. It serves as an indication that editors may be attempting to make the subject seem more notable by focusing on the quantity of references, rather than the quality.

This template should be used only for articles where there are many references, but of questionable applicability or quality. For articles that have no references at all, use {{Unreferenced}}; for those with insufficient references, use {{More citations needed}}.

Usage

Type {{Verify sources|date=December 2025}}

This template will categorise tagged articles into Category:All articles needing references cleanup. Adding a date parameter sorts the article into dated subcategories of Category:Wikipedia references cleanup, allowing the oldest problems to be identified and dealt with first. A bot will add this parameter if it is omitted. Be careful not to abbreviate the date, because then it will automatically add a redlinked category, instead of the correct category.

A |talk= parameter is optional. If details about the references that need verification are discussed on the talk page, set |talk= to the name of the talk page section. As a result, "Relevant discussion may be found on the talk page" will appear in the template message, including a link to the talk page section.

{{Verify sources|article|date=December 2025|talk=Some section name}}

Differences from related templates

• Verify sources identifies more specific problems, including that of refs being used in an attempt to avoid questions being raised about the article's notability or saving a non-notable article from deletion by expanding the size of the reference section with links and references that do little to establish the subject's notability.

TemplateData

This is the TemplateData for this template used by TemplateWizard, VisualEditor and other tools. See a monthly parameter usage report for Template:Verify sources in articles based on its TemplateData.

TemplateData for Verify sources

Use this template for articles where there are many references, but of questionable applicability or quality.

Template parameters

This template prefers inline formatting of parameters.

Parameter		Description	Type	Status
Month and year	date	Month and year of tagging; e.g., 'January 2013', but not 'jan13' Example January 2013 Auto value {{subst:CURRENTMONTHNAME}} {{subst:CURRENTYEAR}}	String	suggested
Affected area	1	Text to replace the word "article", usually "section" Example section Auto value section	String	optional
Section name on talk page	talk	Section name on talk page where further information or discussion can be found	String	optional

See also

• Wikipedia:Template index/Cleanup/Verifiability and sources